iReview | DC Universe Movie SUICIDE SQUAD: Hell To Pay

The latest full-length animated DC film puts the spotlight on the comics universe biggest bad asses when the unruly SUICIDE SQUAD find themselves with Hell To Pay!

The most unlikeliest of heroes find themselves on a road trip when ARGUS national security director Amanda Waller (voiced by Vanessa Williams) puts another mission together for her Task Force X that spans the near entirety of continuity established in the animated DC Universe Movie Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay. From the safety of her perch within Belle Reve maximum security prison, Waller coordinates to send incarcerated felons Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang under the watchful eye of the mercenary Bronze Tiger into the field to retrieve an article of arcane origins before it falls into the hands of the terrorist Vandal Savage.

A word of caution, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay is not family friendly and earns its R Rating. That’s right this DC animated feature pulls no punches and properly positions the ragtag band of bad guys, who find themselves in over their heads when they are sent to retrieve a mysterious item from the vaults of Dr. Fate himself. Unfortunately Waller isn’t the only one interested in Fate’s “Get Out of Hell” card. The treacherous Zoom (voiced by C. Thomas Howell) is also looking for the item and has assembled his own legion of doom consisting of Silver Banshee and Blockbuster. It’s up to Deadshot (voiced by Christian Slater) to lead the team against all the odds and save the day.

Unlike the previous animated adventure that featured the squad, this one is devoid of The Batman and makes its mark by starring Task Force X, and establishes the group in-continuity of the other DCU movies that have been released since Justice League: The FlashPoint Paradox in fact it goes one further by integrating Vandal Savage (voiced by Jim Pirri) who was first introduced in Justice League: Doom. The addition of some familiar faces among the Suicide Squad’s ranks including the multi-talented Kristin Bauer van Straten as Killer Frost and Billy Brown as fan-favorite Bronze Tiger, are nearly upstaged by Gideon Emery who brings the deadly Copperhead to life.

This is veteran actor Christian Slater’s first outing as Deadshot, but the master marksman is in good company joined on this run by Captain Boomerang (voiced by Liam McIntyre) and Harley Quinn (voiced by Tara Strong). So the squad ranks certainly look and feel very familiar especially to the avid comic book reader, and under the watchful eye of Waller voiced by Vanessa Williams, fans can only hope that Wes Gleason is able to pull this crew together for a follow-up adventure. Under the direction of Sam Liu the DCU animated movies have reached new heights of unique entertainment never pandering to an audience.

Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay patterns itself after a road trip, caper flick. The script escapes the contraption of its predecessors (adapting storylines) by working in several key character and plot devices from other films in the series, including cameos from Deathstroke, the Terminator (from the Batman films) and Zoom, who last appeared in JL: The FlashPoint Paradox. The classic Flash rogue is outstandingly played into the narrative, and given that this is a Suicide Squad movie there are several serious casualties — but the plot is not one!

The DC villains are presented in their most violent; this is not for the faint of heart of the purest who prefers their cartoons to remain kid-friendly. You really can’t tell a Suicide Squad story without any blood and guts. What they do is dirty and it is a narrative best told when the punches aren’t pulled.

Bonus Features

Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay is boxed with only a smattering of bonus features but includes some very interesting profiles on Deadshot and Captain Boomerang and their evolution from rogues gallery to major players, and the creators take on the interesting perspective these animated features give them as they develop plot devices. The package also includes a look at the upcoming big event movie The Death of Superman which is promising to adapt the classic comic event. Doomsday was the first film in the line of DC Universe Movies released a decade ago.

Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay directed by Sam Liu is available now in 4K Ultra-HD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD Download from Warner Bros. Animation.